Which Singer machines will go from portable to cabinet?
#1
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Which Singer machines will go from portable to cabinet?
It appears that some portable machines will convert to a cabinet. I'm looking at a 328 portable, specifically. However, I've noticed that the older ones have the "screw things" that you can put on the little posts. My touch and sew won't convert. Anyone have an idea of what will, what won't, when did it change, etc.?
Thanks,
bkay
Thanks,
bkay
#2
My Singer 301 lifts in and out of it's cabinet with the touch of a little release lever. Easy and simple. It has a handle in the top of the machine that can fold down out of the way til you need it. I love this machine.
#3
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The 301 has a cradle that goes in the cabinet and the machine sits in the cradle. Different than any other machine. Yes the Touch N Sews could go in a cabinet but it had to be a cabinet made for them, they mounted differently than machines mounted with hinges on the back. Most any of the older portable machines can be taken out of their base and put in a cabinet as long as the machine fits the cabinet opening and the hinge spacing is the same.
Cari
Cari
#4
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#5
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Somehow, I've ended up with three of the aluminum 328K zigzags. They have the knockout to put them in a treadle, but look like they would just sit in the lowered shelf in a cabinet. For an all-round sewing machine table, I like the old computer tables with several levels. In one of Harriett Hargrave's earliest books she gives the name of one of the computer tables she likes for sewing.
#6
Depends on if you want to take it in and out easily. For most of the older ones, there is no difference to the machine, both the cabinet and the case have the same type of hinge pins to attach the machine.
There were a few cabinets made specifically to fit the bottom of the case, so the machine did not have to be take out of the case to use it in the cabinet. But they were made for the 3/4 size machines (99 and 128).
Later machines were made to sit without a case, so they are easier to put in and out of a cabinet, but then the cabinet is often machine specific, especially if the machine tipped for storage.
There were a few cabinets made specifically to fit the bottom of the case, so the machine did not have to be take out of the case to use it in the cabinet. But they were made for the 3/4 size machines (99 and 128).
Later machines were made to sit without a case, so they are easier to put in and out of a cabinet, but then the cabinet is often machine specific, especially if the machine tipped for storage.
#7
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Cari, the Touch and Sew 778 is a portable (I bought this one new about 1970) that doesn't have the pins/screws setup. The 758 has the pins and fits in a regular cabinet. (I bought this one used a few months ago as a cabinet for my 778, but it didn't work.)
I passed on the 328.
Thanks
bkay
I passed on the 328.
Thanks
bkay
#8
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Location: Victorian Sweatshop Forum
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There were cabinets made for the later T&S machines. They mount differently, by means of a big bolt that goes through the cabinet base into the bottom of the machine somehow. About 6 years ago I mistakenly bought a cabinet like this for my DD to put her Brother machine into. I didn't know at the time about the differences in the cabinets. We ended up putting a piece of plywood into the cabinet base for her machine to sit on and be level with the cabinet surface. Later machines like the Futuras went back to the old way of mounting using hinge pins. I serviced a Futura for a family member last year and had fun getting it out of and then back into the cabinet. The grub screws were hidden way up inside the machine base and are huge, about 3 times the size of the normal grub screws we usually see.
Cari
Cari
Last edited by Cari-in-Oly; 06-14-2016 at 11:15 AM.
#9
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Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Indiana
Posts: 176
i have a Kenmore 15813450. Mine is a free arm and I wanted it in a cabinet not as a portable. I found a vintage cabinet and a almost new sewing machine lift. Now my machine fits in a cabinet. You might look for a lift. It makes getting the machine set up for sewing a easier.
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